What's In The Bag?
by Lunara Dragon
Summary: This is purely fluff...kind of. This is a short Christmas story that follows Cole Turner around as he seeks to buy the perfect gift for each person in his future wife's family. This takes place in mid Season 4, and so he is purely human and experiencing his first real Christmas. Each chapter represents the person he is shopping for.
1. Piper

**What's in The Bag?  
By Lunara Dragon**

 **Chapter 1: Piper**

Author's Note: This is total Charmed/Cole Turner holiday fluff. It was a quick way to get my creative juices flowing and to combine it with my current holiday mood. It always kind of bummed me out that other shows did Christmas specials but Charmed never did. So voila! This is set in Season 4, before Cole was possessed with the Source's Magic but after he lost his demon half, Belthazor, so between the episodes Muse to my Ears and A Paige from the Past.

Each Person will be a Chapter :)

 _***  
_ "Piper you can't keep freezing Cole just because he isn't hanging the garland right!" Phoebe yelled out in exasperation  
"Well you got on my case about lecturing him. Make up your mind!" Piper spat back  
The Manor was in the process of being decked out for the coming Christmas season and Phoebe was pulling out the ornaments while Cole was assisting with wrapping a thin silver garland around the thick oak railing that ran up the stairway. Piper was getting frustrated that the former demon was missing spots when weaving the silver line through the posts connected to the rail. She ran up to try and fix it as her freeze started to wear off.

"Um, Piper" Cole began clearing his throat to try and hide his agitation. He should have been surprised to find Piper ducking under him to change something when the second before she hadn't been there, but this was now the third time that it had happened and so he was more annoyed than anything. "Maybe I should let you do this,"

"Don't be ridiculous you're doing just fine. Isn't he Piper?" Phoebe jumped in  
"Maybe I should" Piper spoke up but grinned and pointed at the stockings "You can handle those. Put them up by the fireplace"

"You want me to hang oversized socks by the fireplace?" Cole questioned with a small smirk of his own; Piper rolled her eyes  
"Cole you were a demon. But I know that even though you haven't really ever celebrated these kinds of holidays, you know the mainstream traditions. Cut the crap!" Piper said while fixing his blasé weaving job with the garland

"Sorry I have to find some way to have fun with this." He responded defensively  
**

After an hour of decorating and being told he was doing it wrong Cole Turner finally turned to Phoebe and pulled her to the side.

"The woman is turning in to a demon herself. I can't take it anymore!" Cole began then let out a sigh seeing the hurt in his love's face "I know its hard for her. She's trying to make everything perfect for Paige and dealing with it being the first holidays without Prue. But I think I'm making it worse, not better"

Phoebe's dark brown eyes lit up as she placed a kiss on Cole's cheek and pulled him in to a hug. "You aren't making it worse. You being here with us makes dealing with the holidays a little easier." She then smiled up at him and whispered "Paige isn't the only one Piper is stressing about."

Cole met Phoebe's gaze with a confused look of his own. He stepped back from her and his blue eyes dimmed "What?"

"You really don't get it do you?" Phoebe said with a small, barely stifled giggle "True, his is Paige's first Christmas in the Manor; But it's yours to Cole. Piper knows you've been struggling with this whole humanity thing and she wants it to be perfect"

"She said that?" Cole responded, still exasperated and confused

"Yes. Not in so many words, but in Piper speak," Phoebe replied

"I think I'll give this whole Christmas shopping thing a try. But on my own if you don't mind. I think Piper needs you here and I need to clear my head" Cole gave Phoebe one last kiss before going to the front door and getting his coat out of the closet

**

"I am an insane person," Cole muttered under his breath as he walked around the brimming walkways of one of San Francisco's many shopping areas. He had come with one specific person in mind, aside from Phoebe, to shop for after their conversation. Cole Turner was going to get the biggest peace offering in the form of a gift that he could think of. But he hadn't considered that it was the weekend right after Thanksgiving and so the biggest shopping weekend for the holidays.

Windows were shimmering with brightly lit banners announcing their insanely low prices, men and women were weaving in and out of the crowd when Cole side stepped around a rather short, stout woman with a stack of boxes. He was slightly impressed that she could even see over the stack at all.

"What kind of gift do I even get a woman like Piper? I need something that says you are a crazy pessimist, but you make amazing food. You annoy the crap out of me but in that charming way...that I hate" Cole continued to mumble to himself with annoyance.

But Cole knew he was more annoyed with the amount of people in this shopping area than anything else. He had taken a train and taxi to get to the Eastern water front in the Embarcadero district. Phoebe, Paige, Leo, and Piper had brought him here last week to the ice skating rink before Piper went off to check out the Farmer's Market for some fresh herbs.

Cole first entered a shop not paying much attention before realizing it was a store that literally only sold sunglasses. "What the hell kind of sense does that make?" Cole muttered to himself before quickly exiting the store

Next the tall man quickly ducked around a throng of middle aged women with children in tow in to a coffee shop called _Boudin_ and tried a pastry. Then as if it was glowing across the way Cole saw it and his eyes lit up. He remembered Piper always blabbering on about how certain wines used for cooking were hard to come by. As if sent by some cosmic power and Cole then let out a half-hearted laugh at his own thought.

"Of all the beings on this planet. I highly doubt anyone connected to the Elders would be helping me..." As he muttered some more he finished his coffee before heading to the Winery's shop that was connected to a restaurant. Cole headed to the back of the shop as he locked eyes with a shorter, gray haired man

"I need help finding a... Marsala?" Cole said hesitantly "Or maybe its a Madeira?"

"Not a Wine guy I see," the clerk said with a smile "May I ask what's it is for?"

"A woman." Cole responded

"Oh, is it a significant other. Perhaps you meant a drinking wine" the clerk, whose name tag read Jose, tried with a smile

Cole choked on a laugh "Not in a million years. But I meant what I said about the wine. I need a cooking wine but you don't understand. This woman is insane it has to be a specific year and type for her mushroom sauce. She will literally flip out if it isn't just right."

"Then why are you here buying it?" Jose asked "No offense"

"Some taken." Cole growled in reply "It's for my possibly future sister-in-law as a Christmas present. I need it to be perfect!"

Both men immediately let out an exasperated sigh. The In-law factor was always that harder parts of the holidays, more so the trying to get in good with them through presents. Jose then motioned for Cole to follow him as it seemed he was taking pity on the former demon. The two headed back and Jose stopped to unlock a cabinet of the more limited supply

"Is there a spending limit?" Jose began and Cole pursed his lips in thought

"Well I was a fairly successful lawyer but I am not Brad Pitt. So let say 100 dollars or less." Cole replied with a smirk

Jose smiled at the answer "Well it isn't nearly that much. But close. _Blandy's 2002 Colheita Bual_ " The shorter, older man's voice took on a tone of pride and Cole picked up on it. The bottle was marked with an award of some sort and Cole felt a jolt of triumph.

"I'll take it!" He said cutting the man off before he could go on to describe anything more about the wine

After it was all wrapped up and Cole paid while thanking the man he continued his trek up around the marketplace to a store called _Sur La Table._

'Final stop, cooking town.' Cole thought to himself 'the one thing about Piper Halliwell even the demons enjoy, her food. It seems appropriate I buy her something to acknowledge that factoid.' Cole then smirked. He may have never beat the Older Halliwell in battle. But he was pretty positive he would win in the gift giving realm of things. Cole stepped in as he began to look at the shelves.

Cole looked at every cooking utensil, pot, and pan he could think of realizing Piper had a majority of these in her kitchen already until his eyes fell on a bright, shiny copper pot and multi-use pan. He thought of all the regular metal pans having dings and dents in them from being used as a weapon at one point or another. Then there were the cast iron pots that had been demoted to potion use only.

He slowly stepped up to the customer service desk trying to think of how to word the question. He met eyes with a pair of green eyes that belonged to a young tawny skinned girl with red and purple hair.

"How durable is your copper-ware set of pots?" Cole began

"It's stronger than the regular steel/tin combination pots." Sherry answered and Cole tried to hide his frustration

"Yes but if it were, to say be thrown across the room at someone, per say. How would it do?"

Sherry stared at him dumbfounded for a moment but the girl standing next to her let out a laugh before answering Cole "I hit my ex with the frying pan, and it didn't even get a scratch. It'll with hold a lot of abuse"

"Thank you Clara. That's all I needed to know," He replied letting out a sigh of relief. He then flashed a pure smile at both women before fumbling for the right last set of words "Happy Holidays before I forget to say it." Clara let out a laugh while Sherry kept staring in pure confusion

Cole let out a groan after purchasing one multi-use frying pan and a huge kettle for Piper. "Well 230 bucks later I finally have the right gift. She manages to be one of the most difficult people I've ever known even without a physical presence." He muttered some more before picking up the phone and calling the Halliwell Manor.

"Hey Paige. Can you ask Leo to give me a lift home?" Cole said in to the phone after the third ring. When he heard the pause and then heard Leo say something about cosmic taxis, he hung up the phone.

Cole then walked over to the small pretzel stand and stepped into the bathrooms next door to it. When the coast was clear he saw the familiar white and blue lights start to dance into an open stall.  
"You better not complain to much. These are for your wife." Cole shot at the whitelighter before passing the wrapped wine bottle to Leo. Leo shrugged then placed his free hand on Cole's shoulder to orb back to the Manor.

 _TO BE CONTINUED_


	2. Paige

**What's in The Bag?  
By Lunara Dragon**

 **Chapter 2: Paige  
**

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the feed back! Obviously this story won't be completed by Christmas as I had planned but it will be done by the New Year and the last chapter will be worth it (Especially if you are a fan of Phoebe and Cole) But this story is for fun I do not own Charmed or any of the character, they are (c) to Constance M. Burge and the WB etc. On to the story  
**

 _December 13_ _th_ is what the date read on the calender as Phoebe marked off the previous day. It was early in the morning and she had planned a shopping day with her younger sister. She then walked quietly over to the full sized bed and reached across a sleeping figure to turn the volume down on her alarm clock.

A taller form that stretched out and consumed the full length of Phoebe's bed turned over under the plush comforter as the young woman laid back down to place a light kiss on the man's forehead. When that got no reaction, she began to run her fingers through his hair slowly.  
"I'm not ready to wake up yet," a gruff voice finally mumbled "One of the things I enjoy about a holiday season is the sleeping in factor"  
"But you promised Piper you'd help her out at the club today. Remember?" Phoebe answered with a slight hitch in her voice

Cole finally forced himself to sit up in bed and pulled Phoebe in to his arms. He realized the sound he heard when she was speaking to him, was her fighting off the urge to laugh at him. Phoebe wiggled over until she was sitting in his lap and then beamed when she realized he was fully awake and pulled his face to hers for a kiss.  
"Remind me... again ...why I promised your sister?" He said between kisses  
"Well she had two calls offs and for some reason you felt bad for her," Phoebe replied while wearing a smirk on her face "I think it's sweet that you two are starting to get along"  
"I don't know if I'd go that far," Cole muttered before finally following her lead and climbing out of their bed. She was right that he felt bad but he was unsure if it was more for Leo that Piper had been bugging for help or if it had been for Piper herself.  
**

"Well that about wraps it up." Piper exclaimed while looking at her watch "Oh yeah, Thanks." She mumbled the last part

Cole rolled his eyes before looking at Leo who smiled in return "I gotta go. Their calling anyhow,"

"Great!" Piper yelled out in frustration but Leo was already orbing out of the club, knowing it was safe since it was just the three of them  
The shorter woman then walked behind the bar grabbing to _Perrier_ waters, then slid one down to Cole who now stood at the one corner closest to the dance floor. He gladly opened up the green glass bottle before taking a few sips to parch his thirst. Piper had a big holiday concert planned and needed help rearranging the tables to set up a few small Christmas trees around the dance floor. She then decided that she wanted to change out the strobing lights to a lower, more calm lighting affect to match the strands of holiday lights that her manager was going to hang later in the day.  
Cole eventually broke the silence "So, at least they waited until Leo and I were done with the heavy lifting before calling," He began with a weak grin

Piper laughed at that comment "Yea, tell me about it. If I had a dollar for every time the Elders have called for him at the worst possible timing, I'd have enough to open my restaurant by now." When Piper laughed Cole's smile grew more genuine as he lifted the bottle to finish off the water inside. "Thanks. Seriously, you saved me a lot of time today."

"It's the least I can do seeing as I'm living rent free and with a live in chef to boot" Cole teased "But seriously, it's fine."

Piper just rolled her eyes at his comment but was hiding a small laugh by taking a sip of her own beverage then lifting her hand to act like she was clearing her throat. She couldn't have Cole Turner thinking she was starting to like him more. She then took their two bottles and dumped them in to the recycling before checking her phone. It was only 1:30 and they weren't supposed to meet Phoebe and Paige until dinner time in Chinatown.  
She had a few more errands to run but not much beyond that planned. The oldest sister had expected it to take longer than it had for Cole and Leo to rearrange the furniture, especially with her obsessive nature, but it didn't. It turned out Cole had a little bit of work horse in him. She mused on the thought before finally smiling up at the taller man.  
"Plans for today?" Piper asked

"Well not particularly," Cole began with a guarded tone while eyeballing the tables around the club

"Oh get over it. I'm not going to have you do any more work," Piper shot at him "I was hoping while my sisters are out and about, I'd get some of my own shopping done. Care to join me?"

He stood up and took a step back while looking around the club causing Piper to become confused by his reaction.  
"Oh sorry. I was just checking to see if anyone else was around or if Leo had returned. Clearly, you can't be asking me to go with you."

"Forget it."

Cole let out a full bellied laugh at Piper's flustered response "Actually, I wouldn't mind at all if you let me come with you. I need help with Paige..."

"Your guess is as good as mine." Piper shot back at him, still irritated by his sarcastic ploy a few seconds earlier.

**  
So the two unlikely shopping companions loaded up in to Piper's jeep and drove through downtown San Francisco to a small set of shops not far from Golden Gate park. They had agreed with each other that the place to shop would not be any place mainstream. In the 7 months since Paige came in to their lives the family had learned she was much more in to the strange and surreal then the rest of the members of their clan. She had taken them to an Antique store once but not for the same reasons Prue used to drag them along.

Paige Matthews never sought out classic antiques or old paintings. But she did enjoy a strange old movie poster from the early days of cinema, and the classic music vinyl records that could be found in those kinds of stores. She also had preached about how shopping at a family owned establishment was better for the community then going to a commercial store, unless it involved clothes of course.  
Cole pointed to a sign that read _Static Vintage_ and a few doors down was another store called _Shattered_ which appeared to sale hand made ceramic pieces from dishes to decorative and anything in-between. Piper pulled the Jeep in to a parking spot on the street by the Vintage thrift shop before the two climbed out of the car.

Once inside Cole quickly began making faces at some of the clothes in the shop but turned red when Piper pulled a top hat off of a set of shelves.  
"Did you ever wear one of these when it was the mainstream style? Are you having flashbacks being here?"

Cole let out a low, deep sigh before turning away from Piper and shaking his head "I was. But I was mostly underground being raised by a demon mother at that point."

Piper immediately put the hat back on the shelf and cleared her throat. "In my defense I had no idea when top hats were popular. Sorry."

The two separated after that when Piper headed towards the racks of clothing and shoes that were for women. Cole started to peruse the vinyl records smiling at some of the names he read and remembering how much he enjoyed these records when they had first been released.

'This was a bad idea.' The former demon thought to himself when he realized how old the store made him feel. He motioned to Piper he was heading to the other store then exited so fast it was as if The Source were on his heels.

After taking in a few deep breaths of the crisp air he felt himself relax. Cole then pulled the double oak doors open to walk in to the small corner store _Shattered._ Once inside the man checked the clock and noticed it was already three in the afternoon. Cole stopped to think where he wanted to start then shrugged.

"Coffee I suppose. The woman loves her coffee and tea." He muttered then followed the narrow aisles until he found the ceramic mugs. They were various sizes, colors, and many designs. Cole first looked at one that had an interesting triangular pattern with the colors of purple and light blue but nixed that idea when he saw them.

At the very end of the row was brightly colored mugs with floral and paisley patterns painted on them. They had a sign that read Oversized mugs, two cups of coffee fit in one mug. Then on one side of some of the cups were sayings or quotes written in calligraphy style. His deep blue eyes danced over the saying before a small laugh bubbled up in his throat. There it was the perfect gift for the much younger woman.

It was crimson and pale pink with a swirling pattern. The trim was a medium navy color and wrapped around the handle and the top of the mug. The sculptor had crafted the handle so it wrapped back out and around the full length of the ceramic cup. Then in perfect cursive read the words "It physically hurts for me to hold my sarcastic comments in!"

"Paige to a T. Add a saying about stubbornness and I'd think the artist knew her personally," Piper's voice pulled Cole out of his thought as he turned to nod his agreement fervently

"Although in your sister's defense, being stubborn she inherited from the Halliwell line. You've all got it," Cole replied. He then picked up the mug and a gift pack of different types of herbal tea. Piper followed him to the check out after picking up a plain teal and lavender coffee mug for Phoebe.

"Well this was oddly fun," Cole said down to the shorter woman after picking up Piper's bags to carry them back to the jeep.

"Thank you...I think" Piper responded with confusion

 _ **To Be Continued**_


	3. Leo

**What's In The Bag?**

 **Chapter 3: Leo**

Author's Note: Well I hope to wrap this story up as I said by New Year's Eve if not sooner. There are 2 more chapters left to go after this one. That's all. As always I do not own Charmed etc it is (c) to Constance Burge and WB.

Two sets of blue eyes were staring at the Halliwell sisters dumbfounded by their questions about the past. But more so, Cole mused to himself, the two men were constantly horrified by the way the sisters knew so little about the history of the very music and cinematic pieces that the three women enjoyed so much. 'Perhaps,' Cole continued to muse to himself 'Leo and I are more just irritated by the constant reminders about how old we really are compared to our female counterparts.'

It was a Friday night and so the two couples, Paige, and her friend Glenn who was in town for a few days, had decided to adventure to the little theater not far from P3's that was showing _It's a Wonderful Life_ for the holiday season. The group had thought it would be perfect to go there for the 9 o'clock showing then go to P3's for drinks and conversation afterwards. It was a nice, simple evening after a hectic week of last minute holiday preparations to the club and shopping etc. It was the last full week before Christmas. Cole only had two people left to buy for but knew that the family stressed because they also had to get stuff mailed out for family and friends that lived out of state.  
Piper had the extra stress of the fact that a few heavy hitting musicians had agreed to do a charity concert on Christmas eve. The proceeds were to benefit the local ASPCA animal shelter this year. Last year they had done it to benefit families in need, so this year Piper agreed to do it for animals in need.

After leaving the movie theater Cole Turner and Leo Wyatt were debating whether the movie _It's a Wonderful Life_ had been in the top five of James Stewart's career or not. Cole had said that it was and Leo had stated that, even though it was a timeless holiday classic and great movie, James Stewart had made a few movies better than that. His top five differed greatly from Cole's. Paige piped up and asked what made James Stewart so amazing aside from the movie they had just seen. That was what warranted the dumbfounded stares from the two older men.

"Of course, we can't really talk like we are as old as we really are," Leo finally whispered to Cole to break him out of his reveries

"Oh. Right" Cole muttered then looked away from Paige and Glenn quickly. Leo let out a quick laugh before the two men let the rest of the group walk ahead of them. Cole sometimes forgot when there were others out in and about with them that he had to tone it down and watch what he said. Glenn began to give Leo and Cole a funny look which caused Cole to get agitated and have to fight the urge to yell at Paige's friend. In fact the only people, outside of the family, that seemed ok with conversations about their real ages and magical topics of any kind, were Sheila and Darryl Morris.

"You're still getting used to it," Leo began while patting Cole on the back quickly, in a friendly way. Cole smiled at the shorter man and nodded as Leo continued in a teasing tone "If it helps, I still forget that the girls are so much younger and have no idea what I'm talking about. It's nice to have someone who is older than me around. So, Thanks for that old man"

"Watch it Whitelighter," Cole playfully growled back in response. Then it was almost as if a lightbulb physically went off in Cole's head as his eyes lit up with a plan. The perfect present for his only male friend since he started dating Phoebe Halliwell and began trying to turn over a new leaf. It would cause laughter but also joy and that was what Cole was aiming for this holiday season. He had some research to do first of course.  
Leo and Cole rejoined the rest of the group when Cole finally caught up he intertwined his fingers with Phoebe's and caught her eyes. When she saw the huge smile beaming on his face she couldn't help but smile in return to match his. She was glad to see Cole and Leo were getting along and building on a rocky start to their friendship. Leo wrapped his arm around his wife's waist as he began to match steps with Piper's pace and she pinched his arm in a flirty manner.  
***

Cole once again was off on a shopping adventure and none to please about it. Last time he at least had Piper to accompany him but this time he was adventuring out alone again.

"Apparently, Christmas causes the antisocial and unsocialized to become masochists," Cole whispered to himself before pulling out his cell phone. In the back of his mind he knew that the point of these journeys was because of the real meaning of the holidays. He had never really experienced Christmas since he was a very young boy and so he wanted to show his new found family that he did pay attention to them, but more so, he wanted to prove to himself that he could handle being human. So here he went out into down town San Francisco once again to go shopping.

Cole Turner, the former bad ass demon, was taking a taxi and losing track of where exactly he was going. To be honest, he thought to himself, he had no idea what types of stores to go to to find what he had in mind. So he looked down at his cell phone and punched in one of the four numbers he called on a regular basis.

Paige Matthews was startled by the phone ringing this early on a Saturday morning. Generally no one called the house this early, like ever. Anyone connected to the club would call Piper's cell phone and anyone else knew the sisters well enough to not call before 10 am. If it was for Cole well most of his former colleagues did not use phones.  
***

"Hello," Paige began groggily

"Paige?" Cole Turner said from the other end of the line  
"This better be life or death," Paige said as she sat upright in bed. She glared at the phone with some shock and irritation mixed in. She then looked down at the clock and realized it was almost 10 am, but she was confused why Cole was out and about this early. "What do you want Cole?"

"Um, Well you are the best shopper I know. In case you forgot I do not really know my way around the shopping districts yet," The gruff voice answered from the phone and Paige let out a laugh

"Ah, the holiday shopping even affects demons I see," She shot through the phone, dripping with sarcasm

"Former demon," Cole growled not wanting to debate logistics with the youngest sister right now "Will you help me or not?"

"Fine," Paige growled back. His response to her comment had caused her own irritation to rise some more. She pulled on a robe and carried the wireless phone from her room down the hall. She opened Phoebe's and Piper's bedroom doors consecutively. Both of her sisters were tucked away in bed still so she had to give Cole props there. He left quietly and unnoticed to try and get away with shopping without prying eyes.

Cole was not misguided in his belief that Paige was the sister to call for help when it came to finding these particular gifts. For several reasons but three main ones came to mind. One, she wouldn't ask to join Cole for his shopping adventure since he was going so early; Two, she knew out of the way stores that would be likely to carry older media and gladly told him about it; Three; she didn't ask for details about what he was getting Leo because she could care less what Cole does as long as it isn't evil.  
He smiled to himself as he paid the cab fare. The taxi had stopped on a small stretch of shops on Haight Street as Cole had repeated to his driver the directions after getting of the phone with Paige. He saw the couple of shops that Paige had mentioned in particular. His eyes glazed over at all the banners and people passing by when he saw the store sign _Amoeba Music_ and in the front window was a display of classic vinyl records. He ignored the amount of people that surrounded him and pushed through the door before heading back to the records. Cole began shuffling through the alphabet, first looking in the C's.

As he thumbed through the records he admired their sleek black circular shapes and the art that went in to the earlier covers on records. They did not make music such an artful experience with the use of cds like the art that went in to making a record and the cover art that covered the cardboard the records came in. Cole settled on a Bing Crosby album before switching letters and looked for an album that came quite a few years after Mr. Crosby. He found a collection of Chuck Berry albums and picked two out.

"I know he doesn't like much rock and roll,but everyone loves Chuck Berry that was alive in that time period," Cole pondered to himself before heading to the check out. He made a wide arc and picked up a Judy Garland album to be on the safe side. Piper had mentioned when Cole asked that Leo liked Judy Garland. With four records in tow he paid the $34.97 before leaving the store.

"Now to find...ah there it is," Cole muttered before realizing an older woman was giving him a strange look "What?" Cole yelled startling the woman "Have you never heard of thinking aloud?" he added on quickly before crossing the street to calm himself and put as much distance between her and himself

Cole walked a block up from the music store and stopped at another, much smaller store. He let out a deep sigh, not realizing he had been half holding his breath. "I never thought I'd be yearning for Piper's company," he mumbled under his breath before heading in to the store entitled _Stuf on Haight._ He wasn't antisocial but he was still unsure of how to react in such a crowded place. As a demon they were only in groups when on big missions, but aside from meetings and outings of that caliber demons were pretty solitary creatures. It's true, Cole was a self-assured man but that was before he gave up half of himself, literally. _  
_The store was just an odd collection of anything and everything just as Paige had described it would be. If he was going to find the older movies she said he'd most likely find something at this place. He took a few moments to collect himself and enjoy the fact that this place was less crowded than the others. His blue gaze took in the sights of displays before stopping at the section labeled movies and headed to the plethora of DVD racks. They were divided by time period and he immediately felt thankful for this place.

Cole took his time pulling out different movies and enjoying reminiscing about each time period in turn. He finally realized he needed to get back to the Manor before to long and so stopped at Classics from the 1960s. There it was at the top of the second shelf of DVD. _Charles Bronson Collection._ Cole pulled the DVD out and noted it had a collection of movies from the 1960s and 1970s with three discs in the box set. But it had the main two he knew that Leo enjoyed and that was _The Dirty Dozen_ and _The Magnificent Seven_. He chuckled to himself thinking of the conversation right before Piper became a fury where Phoebe asked who Charles Bronson was.

After his final purchase he hailed another taxi to head home. 'I wanted to get Leo at the very least one shirt that wasn't plaid or plain button up. But I'll leave the Whitelighter's sense of style alone for now' Cole thought to himself. He hated all the plaid but knew Leo preferred it to the dress up shirts and blazers that Cole wore.  
Cole felt proud of his shopping adventure but he was ready to be home with the people he could tolerate and the love of his life over all of these crowds of people he'd prefer to not be around at all. If only he had been able to hold on to that one power, and be able to conjure items out of thin air. It would have made this whole, miserable side of the human experience null and void.

 _To Be Continued_


	4. Phoebe

**What's in The Bag?**

 **Chapter 4: Phoebe**

Author's Note: Sorry I was a little sick around New Years and then school was back in session, thus I had to go back to work. But here is the last main chapter. I am thinking of writing a short Epilogue/Chapter about how the family reacts to their presents from Cole but I haven't 100% decided yet. Please forgive the long delay!

It was exactly two days until Christmas and the family had all finished up their shopping, decorating, and now three sisters stood in the kitchen baking up a storm. The shorter sister with straight, long brown hair was at the helm spitting out directions on what still needed to be done.

Leo glanced at Cole "Ok follow my lead,"

Cole gave a nervous look back to the shorter man "Leo, Are you sure Piper isn't going to kill us?"

"Oh she'll be mad. But she gets over it fast, I'll orb us out of there if it comes to it," Leo answered and Cole rolled his eyes at that answer. The two men were ducking behind the main door frame that lead from the dining room in to the kitchen. Cole was leaning his weight on the side of the curio cabinet while Leo rested on the wall. The two could smell the cookies that had just come out of the oven, and the apple tarts were taunting them from the cookie sheets as Phoebe placed them in the oven. Paige was busy melting chocolate and peanut butter to make various types of fudge.

When Leo saw the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies had been left unguarded on the side counter he made his move. Cole quickly followed suite after checking to see that Piper was messing with the settings of the oven and turning the temp down for the tarts. Cole's eyes danced over the snicker doodles but they sat to close to the cookie guard. Leo and Cole both stole one of the cookies that sat on the side countertop and shoved it in their mouths quickly.

"Seriously?" Paige mockingly lectured but it caused Piper to turn around in frantic mode and the boys got a glare from the two older sisters

"OUT! Both of you!" Piper yelled out in frustration and Leo waved a quick hello

Cole met Phoebe's gaze and gave a weak smile of his own "It smelled to good not to take one," and knew that his pleading worked when she dropped the angry look. She gave a slide glance to Piper before walking over and pulling him in to a hug.

She then whispered "You have about five seconds before she goes Postal. I suggest you run. If you think my sister is a cooking Nazi you've never experienced her around the holidays," with that warning she placed a quick kiss on Cole's cheek who in turn kissed her forehead. He then grabbed Leo by the shoulder to push the white lighter back towards the living room.

"Sorry!" He yelled over his shoulder causing Paige to try and stifle a laugh when she saw Piper's eyes harden

Cole sat enjoying the fruits of his and Leo's little adventure as he ate his second cookie. The two men were now in the living room. They had grabbed a few more cookies for each before making their hasty exit. As the former demon sat eating his cookies he picked up a stack of ads from the newspaper.

"Do you still have present shopping to do?" Leo asked with surprise when he saw what Cole was perusing in the stack of papers

Cole glared up from his reading and let out a deep sigh of annoyance. He passed the ad over to Leo and shrugged his shoulders. He then answered Leo explaining his dilemma "The rest of you were easy in comparison to Phoebe. She has plenty of jewelry, books, and odd end things. Besides the one sparkly thing I want to purchase for her she told me to put on the back burner for now,"

"You're overthinking it Cole. I did it my first couple of years I was with Piper to. Think outside the box and look for something that fits your current situation." Leo explained trying to provide the best advice he could think of

"That doesn't make sense Obi-wan," Cole muttered in confusion "How?"

"I see Phoebe got you to watch Star Wars finally," Leo said with a small laugh "Just think about it but not so much with your mind. Try to think about something Phoebe has talked about in the past few months or looked at. It'll hit you when you least expect it,"

Cole finished the last bite of his cookie and stood up from the couch. "Movies are all I have to do now. No Job, no powers, no known mortal skills aside from being a lawyer. I clearly have no idea what you mean Leo,"

"It'll come within time. But this one you should figure out on your own. You offer a lot more to all of our lives and you fight for the greater good now. Don't sell yourself so short Cole..." Leo tried with a pleading tone

"I need some air," Cole replied cutting the white lighter off in mid-sentence.

'Of course I know I should get her something important that shows how I feel. But what the hell is that if it's not an engagement ring.' Cole thought to himself as he took a walk up the block. He turned around the corner and headed to the nearby park. He found himself wishing he could talk to Piper but it wasn't really anything she could advise him on this time. Leo tried but did no good and he hadn't even asked his friend to. That was how Leo was though, it was his nature to try and help whenever he felt it was needed.

That was just it though, and Leo hardly even realized why his help made it far worse. Leo was at his core, Human, and a good guy. He was a human who thrived on helping others no matter the cost. That was how Leo Wyatt had earned his wings in the first place. But Leo was trying to give advice as if Cole knew exactly what he meant. Cole may have been half human all those years, but he never used his human side except for a handful of times in his very long existence as a demon. Belthazor called the shots.

Cole lowered himself on to a vacant bench and breathed in the cool night air. It was a cooler night than what was the norm for San Francisco weather and so the park was fairly empty of people. He saw a few dedicated runners and one couple walking their dog. 'Maybe that's what I should get her' he thought then a smile passed over his face. He knew all the times Phoebe had talked about how animals should not be given as presents. She was an animal rights activist and it was one of the many pure qualities about her that he loved about her.

He then watched as stars started to twinkle in to the sky as the sun sunk lower in and the darkness finally took hold. Cole glanced at his cell phone to see he had a missed call from Leo and two from Phoebe. He hit the redial button to call the Manor and let them know he'd be gone for awhile but that he was fine.

"Hello," Piper's voice answered the house phone when she realized it was Cole she dropped the friendly tone "Where the hell are you. First you take up arms with my husband to become a cookie thief; then you leave without any indication to us where you are going,"

"Be careful Piper. It almost sounds like you're concerned for me," Cole teased in response

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I care," Piper said with all seriousness

Cole now stared at the phone with some surprise "I apologize. I hadn't realized how long I had been gone on my walk. Listen, I am going to catch a bus but I'll be back home in a couple of hours. Will you cover for me."

"Sure. Whatever." Piper spat back before hanging up the phone with annoyance

Cole headed to a used bookstore where the girls would sometimes stop on their way to Chinatown. He had already bought Phoebe a pair of earrings but he wanted to get her something extra special. The sisters would stop here to seek out basic mythology books from time to time, and Piper preferred classic novels over new ones so she'd stop in to pick up something to read for herself.

The store was called _Twice Upon a Book._ Cole enjoyed the store and owner as well, because there was a familiarity about the older books that he enjoyed when looking at the threading on the bindings, feeling the worn leather on the covers, and smelling the mildewy aroma of worn out pages. The hand made were more appealing to the former demon then the ones made and pressed by machines in the current days.

"I want it to say that despite it all being crazy I know my place is beside her. And that is all that really matters," He whispered to himself. As he looked over the shelves he saw it. Glowing with a soft back light in a locked glass display case. He slowly stepped closer and peered down in to the case at the worn edges and glowing letters that were just barely there on the cover. Time had worn away the gold leafing on the sides of the pages and the letters of the title but it still had some flecks clinging to the leather binding on the side. _Sense and Sensibility_ by A Lady. Cole had a grin that he felt stretched from ear to ear and made his whole face hurt. This was Jane Austen's very first published novel and she used to remain anonymous when she first debuted on to the scene. Cole remembers Phoebe telling him about it at one point in time.

He finally walked around the second, inner door way and strolled to the main counter. An older couple owned the book store but Cole knew the man better than the woman. "Mr. Fletcher," He greeted with warmth when he stepped up to the counter.

"Mr. Turner, Nice to see you again." Mr. Fletcher greeted then looked around "Where are the Halliwells?"

"Not with me today I'm sorry to say. I'm actually here for a last minute Christmas gift for Phoebe. What can you tell me about that copy of _Sense and Sensibility._ Is it really an original?" Cole questioned

Mr. Fletcher pursed his lips together "It is. But you'd have to talk to my wife about whether or not it is for sale," He explained looking Cole up and down.  
"Roberta!" He then beckoned to his wife who came out from the back storage room. Cole could make out a cash register drawer and realized they were starting their normal pre-closing routines.

"I'm sorry for coming in so late," Cole quickly apologized and Roberta shook her hand at him. "That book is Phoebe's all time favorite book. She's read it so many times she has not one, but two copies worn out from reading them"

"But have you read it Cole?" Roberta asked quietly and Cole was taken aback by the question

"Once, a long time ago." Cole answered with exasperation "Is it for sale Mrs. Fletcher?"

"Of course it is or else it wouldn't be in the shop. I am just picky about the buyer. But I know the Halliwells and they are very respectful of books. Those three are some of our best customers."  
Cole then winced, this was why he preferred Mr. Fletcher. Roberta Fletcher was a very nice and kind business woman, but she loved to talk. Sometimes not knowing when to stop. "Right I know. We are all in here at least once a month,"

"The price dear," Mr. Fletcher interrupted the conversation and Cole shot him a thankful glance before returning his attention to the woman.

"Mr. Turner I think we can make a deal," She said as she wrote down a price and Cole's jaw dropped.

"Well the most I can afford is only about a thousand. I knew it was going to be costly but I had to try. Thank you for your time Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher," Cole began then looked away with frustration.

"I'll come down to that price if you tell me why you think this it the perfect present for your girl," Roberta persuaded and Cole tried to think hard.

He brought one quote to the front of his mind from the book " _I come here with no expectations, only to profess, now that I am at liberty to do so, that my heart is and always will be your_ s."

Roberta nodded her head and waved for him to continue his explanation "I believe that this book will help me show Phoebe that even though our relationship is very different then those of the novels Jane Austen wrote there is one major thread that is similar in all of them. The relationships work as long as both hearts are open and honest. I will always keep my heart open to her and I will wait for when she is ready for marriage. I will tell her that just because she is not ready currently, does not mean never and she is worth that wait,"

Cole began to realize he was rambling and was cut off when he saw Mrs. Fletcher walking over to the display case with a set of keys. She pulled the book out and then placed it in a sealed box for him.

"I think this book is going to the perfect owner. I hope for your sake Mr. Turner that she loves you as much as you love her" the older woman said with a strained voice and Cole held back a smirk when he realized what had happened. The Fletchers were apparently a couple of old, romantic saps. Mrs. Fletcher had began tearing up while the former demon was rambling on in explanation to the couple.

"Thank you! I plan to write out everything to her and wrap it up with the book. I promise you we will keep it up in the attic in our Manor House away from the elements," He said before writing a check to the couple. Cole then carried the box out of the book store and caught the last bus home to Halliwell Manor.

Cole snuck around the side of the house and cut through the laundry room in to the kitchen. Based on the several missed called he had received in the four hours since he had left the Manor after the Cookie fiasco he assumed the baking frenzy was done for the day. He was right as he stepped through the door and looked around the only one in the kitchen was Piper.

"She's upstairs waiting on you," Piper reported as if reading his mind "Whatcha got there?"

Cole placed the box carefully on the limited counter space. There was an empty spot because Cole had walked in on Piper beginning the process of placing the baked goods that had cooled enough into tupperware containers or gift bags. He pulled the lid of the box off and Piper's eyes went wide.

"Is that a first edition?" She questioned with a grin "Pheebs will love it Cole,"

"That's what I was aiming for Piper," Cole said with his voice full of pride "Do you have some place I can hide it until I wrap it to put under the tree?"

"The basement. She never goes down there. You know that," Piper said with a grin

After Cole had placed the box, with Piper's help, on the top shelf that ran on the wall farthest from the water pipes and the shelves appeared to be dry. Piper had given Cole a plastic tarp to place over it for extra precaution when she picked up on how paranoid he was about it. She also made a face when he explained why he was so worried about it.

Phoebe Halliwell was fidgeting on her bed looking over last minute lists for who was getting the treat bags of baked goods that her and her sisters had spent the day making. She crossed off Darryl and Sheila as well as Father Morgan, the new Priest at the church that Piper would volunteer at from time to time.  
Cole pushed her bedroom door open and fought the urge to scoop her up in an embrace when he could see the look of relief wash over her face.  
"Where have you been?" She shot at him "Leo said you went for a walk. But for 4 hours? That's hard to believe,"  
"I had some last minute shopping to do. Didn't Piper tell you I called and checked in?" He questioned  
Phoebe nodded and moved the papers out of Cole's way as he walked over to the bed. He sat down next to her before resting his arm across her shoulders and placing a kiss on her forehead.  
"Would you like me to be honest my love?" He said in a teasing tone, When Phoebe nodded her head yes he continued. "You are a very difficult woman to shop for,"  
"Hey!" Phoebe said when giving him a playful slap on his arm  
"Well most women want jewelry, but oh no you told me to wait on that," Cole began and a pained expression caught him off guard  
"Cole," She began before he pulled her in to an embrace and she smiled  
"But you aren't most women and that's why our love works in the first place. Wouldn't you agree Ms. Halliwell," Cole said in a formal tone  
He pulled her down to the bed before pushing the lists she was writing aside. He knew that he was willing to wait forever for her and if they never got married he also knew that they'd be together with or without a formal piece of paper stating that they were in love. She rested her head on Cole's chest and a shiver ran up her spine as he used his free hand to run his fingers slowly through Phoebe's hair.  
"You are always the only thing that matters to me," He whispered in to the night "So nothing is ever to difficult if it is for you and your happiness. Please, tell me that you know that Phoebe,"  
"I believe our feelings are mutual Cole Turner. You and our family are the only things that matter," She said before sitting up and pulling Cole in to a deep kiss. He felt her warm lips and closed his eyes to get lost in her embrace. He let the waves of passion wash over both himself and her as the two laid back on the bed and he pulled the covers over them.  
 _ **The End  
**_ End Note: The quote that Cole recites to Mrs. Fletcher when starting his explanation of why he thinks the book is the perfect gift for Phoebe is actually from Sense and Sensibility if you have ever read it. I thought it fit with Cole's personality in Season four; The short time we see him as just human he is pretty forward about his feeling with Phoebe.


End file.
